Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Survey of Genealogy Activities

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing has another great task for us tonight. Here it is:

1)  Answer these questions in my survey about your genealogy resources and usage:

a)  Which genealogy software programs for your computer do you use (e.g., Family Tree Maker, Reunion, GRAMPS, etc.)?

I use RootsMagic as my genealogy software. I started out using PAF. I switched to Legacy Family Tree sometime around 2005. A few years later, I read a posting by Elizabeth Shown Mills about the Research report capability of RootsMagic and gave that a try. I’ve been using it ever since. I liked many of the features of Legacy Family Tree and miss them but one program is enough for me.

b)  Which online family trees have information submitted by you - in either a separate online tree (e.g., Ancestry Member Tree) or a universal (collaborative) online tree (e.g., WikiTree)?

I have a tree at Ancestry.com and at Family Tree DNA both for the purpose of DNA matching with others. I do not have many sources attached to the facts on the Ancestry tree. I don’t use the hints either.

c)  For which subscription genealogy record providers (e.g., Ancestry) do you have a subscription?

I subscribe to Ancestry.com and Fold3. I have access to other only subscriptions through the California Genealogical Society at their library.

d)  Which FREE genealogy record providers (e.g., FamilySearch) do you use regularly?

I use FamilySearch nearly as much as I use Ancestry.com. I am especially fond of the image only collections. I hope they put up some land records soon. I also use Chronicling America for early newspapers, USGENWEB for county resources, and a variety of state archive sites, such as in Missouri and Illinois.

e)  How much time do you spend each week doing actual genealogy research online?  [Note:  not reading, or social networking, but actual searching in a record provider].  Estimate an average number of hours per week.

I might conduct research online about 3 hours per day. Some days more, some days less. I do spend some amount of time daily researching or writing about genealogy.

f)  How much time do you spend each week doing actual genealogy research in a repository (e.g., library, archive, courthouse, etc.)?  Estimate an average number of hours per month over, say, a one year period.

I spend one day a month at the California Genealogical Society’s (CGS) library. I spend two weeks a year at the Family History Library. I spent 3 days during my last vacation to Ohio and Pennsylvania researching at libraries and archives. I also volunteer at the local historical society’s archive once a week, where I conduct genealogy research for others who query us.  That comes out to about 75 days per year.

g)  How much time do you spend each week adding information to your genealogy software program (either on your computer or online)?  Estimate an average number of hours per week over, say, a one month period.

When I conduct research, I write about it as I analyze and then I record the information into the genealogy database. So the time spent entering is about a quarter of the time writing about it. I do this as I research so it’s hard to separate researching time from analyzing time from entering time.

h)  How much time do you spend each month at a genealogical society meeting, program or event (not a seminar or conference)?  Estimate an average number of hours per month over, say, a one year period.

I am a member of three local societies that conduct meetings. All take a one or two month break sometime in the year, so I average 10 meetings per year for two of the societies, and 12 meetings per year serving on the board of directors.

i)  How much time do you spend each month on genealogy education (e.g., reading books and periodicals, attending seminars, conferences, workshops, webinars, etc.)?   Estimate an average number of hours per month over, say, a one year period.

I attend at least two hangouts weekly. I might attend 5-6 webinars per month. I attend 4-5 classes at CGS per year. I attend at least one week-long institute per year, sometimes two.

j)  How much time do you spend each week reading, writing and commenting on genealogy blogs, websites, and social media?   Estimate an average number of hours per week over, say, a one month period.

I read blogs and check out genealogy related material on Facebook perhaps 2-3 hours per day.

2)    Answer the questions in a blog post of your own (and please drop a link as a comment in this post), in a comment to this post, or in a Google+ or Facebook post.

Here it is!

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